A task force on antisemitism under President Trump is urging Harvard to drop its DEI and affirmative action initiatives, agree to third-party monitoring for major academic programs, and provide the names of international students and those protesting against Israel.
Moreover, similar to what Columbia University did in response to a comparable request in March, a representative stated to The Post that Harvard might need to undergo a “significant leadership change” to even begin progressing in discussions with the administration.
An insider familiar with the discussions between the administration and America’s most esteemed academic institution mentioned that without a shift in leadership at the Ivy League school, it’s “hard to envision” the parties returning to the negotiation table.
“Harvard is, in effect, a business, and like any business you have a CEO — in this case [Harvard president Alan] Garber. But you also have a board, which ultimately gets a lot of influence in determining the path,” the source told The Post.
“We would love Harvard to come back to the negotiating table, but I think there are definitely factors at play that are preventing that, and it’s hard to see a path back to a deal without leadership changes.”
Columbia’s former-interim president Katrina Armstrong resigned a few days after the school acquiesced to demands from the task force, with the board of trustees losing faith in her ability to lead negotiations with the Trump administration, according to sources.
Garber, meanwhile, has dug in his heels, vowing to stand “firm” against the administration even as it announced a fresh round of cuts worth roughly $100 million, according to a copy of a letter sent by the US General Services Administration.
In April, Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism outlined 10 demands that the Cambridge, Mass. school must adhere to by August in order to “maintain Harvard’s relationship with the federal government” — or risk losing around $3.2 billion in federal funds.
The letter to Garber included new requirements around merit-based hiring and admissions, international admissions reform, viewpoint diversity, a crackdown on antisemitism, stronger whistleblower protections, student discipline reform and an end to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
One such change the task force is calling for is “reducing the power” held by certain students, faculty and administrators whom the April 11 letter describes as “more committed to activism than scholarship.”
The school’s hiring and admissions practices are also in the task force’s crosshairs, with a demand that Harvard “cease all preferences based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
In the 2023 Supreme Court case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the high court ruled 6-2 that race-based affirmative action programs like Harvard’s violate the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment, effectively outlawing the practice.
Harvard will also be required to make all admissions data available to the federal government and subject to audit, including detailed breakdowns of admitted and rejected students by demographic and academic performance metrics.
Trump is also trying to give thousands of foreign students enrolled at Harvard the boot, and has demanded the university hand over a list of all students on visas. However, a judge last week temporarily blocked the White House’s ability to outright revoke the enrollment of foreign students.
The letter elaborates on the prohibition in more detail, demanding the school “prevent admitting students hostile to the American values and institutions inscribed in the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence,” it reads, including “students supportive of terrorism or antisemitism.”
Another requirement the school must follow is retaining an external auditor to ensure every department is “viewpoint diverse,” as well as “abolish all criteria, preferences, and practices … that function as ideological litmus tests,” across both hiring and admissions, the letter states.
An external auditor is also being insisted upon to review Harvard’s programs and departments “that most fuel antisemitic harassment.”
Among the programs cited as “centers of concern” by the Task Force include the Divinity School, Graduate School of Education, School of Public Health, Medical School, Religion and Public Life Program, FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Carr Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic.
The auditor’s report must also identify faculty members who “discriminated against Jewish or Israeli students” after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks and single them out for “sanctions” to be determined by the university and federal government, according to the letter.
Harvard must also agree to dismantle its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and cease all DEI-based “disciplinary or speech control policies,” the letter specifying that such initiatives not be allowed to continue in spirit even under alternative names.
The letter also says that Harvard must reform how the school handles student discipline and accountability.
This includes revising any policies deemed “insufficient to prevent the disruption of scholarship, classroom learning and teaching, or other aspects of normal campus life,” and requires developing and implementing disciplinary measures capable of preventing such disruptions.
“In particular, Harvard must end support and recognition of those student groups or clubs that engaged in antisemitic activity since October 7th, 2023, including the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, Harvard Graduates Students 4 Palestine, Law Students 4 Palestine, Students for Justice in Palestine and the National Lawyers Guild,” the letter said.
Harvard also must agree to implement a “comprehensive” ban on mask wearing, complete with disciplinary measures for violations “not less than suspension.” The task force also imposed a similar requirement on Columbia.
The letter also says Harvard must conduct investigations for violations committed during anti-Israel protests of the last two years, including the Harvard Business School protest of October 2023, the University Hall sit-in of November that same year, and the spring encampment of 2024.
Strict disciplinary measures are being called for, including the permanent expulsion of students involved in the “October 18 assault of an Israeli Harvard Business School student,” as well as suspending students involved in occupying university buildings during protests.
The missive concludes with demanding that Harvard establish protections for whistleblowers and ensure “full transparency and cooperation with all federal regulators.”
Harvard has until August 2025 to comply with the demands, according to the task force.
